The technical part of the invention concerns the construction of electronic auditory prosthesis devices.
There currently exist a number of electronic auditory devices for rectifying acute deafness. The comprise electrodes implanted in the cochlea, said electrodes being intended to transmit electric signals to the nervus acusticus fibers inside the cochlea.
Briefly, the acoustic waves are firstly transmitted by the ear-drum and ossicles to the liquid of the inner ear which in turn excites the ciliated sensorial cells of the cochlea.
In people suffering from acute deafness, the ciliated sensorial cells are deficient and the usual auditory prostheses, which have the effect of increasing acoustic energy, are ineffective.
For about twenty years, it has been possible to correct extreme deafness by using auditive protheses, known as bionic ears. These comprise an external device equipped with a microphone which captures sounds and with electronic circuits which break down these sounds into electric signals of different frequencies, and secondly electrodes which are connected to said electronic circuits either directly or by induction through the skin, and which are placed on an electrode carrier implanted inside the cochlea during a surgical operation.
The patent application FR.A. 2,383,657 (BERTIN & Co et al.) describes an auditory prothesis electronic device comprising an external transmitter which is induction-connected to a receptor implant comprising an intracochlear electrode carrier.